A Tale of Teasers
by justkillingtime
Summary: A story based on the cryptic spoilers that have recently been released about season 3. Summary inside so as not to spoil those who do not wish to be spoiled.
1. Chapter 1

**Summary: _"Someone will get engaged. Someone will get more than that. Someone will die. Someone we thought was dead will return. Two people whose names both start with the letter "A" will get even hotter. And Grey's Anatomy will do the one thing that you'd think it never, ever, ever, ever could. Yes, that!"_ But not necessarily in that order.**

* * *

Izzie lent back against the railing of the ferry boat. She looked up at the sky, closed her eyes and breathed in the fresh air. She tried to imagine she was somewhere else. Somewhere exotic, heck it didn't even have to be exotic just…anywhere but there.

On the upper deck she could see Alex sitting with Addison. She couldn't hear what they were saying but she could tell by their body language that whatever it was they were enjoying the conversation. They kept moving closer to each other and stared into each others eyes.

Izzie closed her eyes again. She didn't want to watch them, see them even. Alex used to look at her that way; that look used to belong to her but not anymore. She missed Alex but she couldn't blame him for moving on. She honestly didn't expect him to wait for her forever, but she'd hoped he would. She wasn't ready for a relationship, she wasn't ready to let anyone else in, she still wasn't over….

Alex kissed Addison, they'd kissed before, they'd done a lot more than just kiss, but this was the first time they'd kissed in public, where other people could see. Out of the corner of his eye Alex watched Izzie, he watched for her reaction, but she wasn't watching them anymore, her head was tilted sky ward and her eyes were closed. Addison placed both her hands on Alex's head and drew him closer to her. He closed his eyes and kissed her. He shook the thoughts of Izzie from his mind, she wasn't his responsibility. He didn't have to wait for her, he wasn't doing anything wrong. He kissed Addison again, determined not to let these thoughts ruin what he had going here.

Everything was calm, tranquil almost, and then the sound of metal scraping against metal filled the air. Alex pulled away from Addison and looked down at the lower deck. A large section of the safety rail was gone, and so was Izzie.

Alex felt a knot tighten around his stomach as he realized what had just happened. "Izzie!" he began yelling to the platform below but there was no response. People from all over the boat were converging on the lower deck. Everyone was trying to get a look at what had just happened. Alex stood up and began running for the stairs to the lower deck. Addison just sat on the seat, she hadn't seen Izzie, she had no idea what was going on.

On the lower deck Alex tried to push his way toward the edge. Izzie was down there, someone needed to be looking for her but no one was looking for her.

"My friend is down there!" He yelled at the boat staff who were trying to keep everyone away from the edge. "My friend is in the water we need to save her."

"Sir you need to calm down, you need to step back. There is no one in the water." The staff tried to tell him. But Alex knew Izzie was in there, she was in trouble, she needed to be saved. He pushed past the guards and dived head first into the icy cold water.

The water was colder than he expected, it winded him, chilled him to the bone almost instantly. It took him a minute to get his bearings, remember why he'd just jumped into the water. Someone threw him a life buoy he held onto it and steadied himself but as soon as someone started pulling it in he let go. He didn't need to be rescued. He needed to rescue Izzie.

He screened the surface of the water but he couldn't see anything. The water was dark, murky; he couldn't even see his own feet.

"Izzie!" he called again but the only sound he heard were the calls from people on the ferry telling him to get out the water.

He dived blindly into the water. Beneath the surface was so dark he couldn't see his own hands. He reached out with them, swung them around praying that he'd find her but there was nothing. He returned to the surface and took another breath. He forced himself to dive deeper, stay under longer, but still nothing.

Ten minutes later he still hadn't found her. The cold was getting to him, his muscles were cramping up and he was having difficulty keeping himself above the water. He heard Addison yelling at him to get out the water. She was saying Izzie was gone, that he needed to save himself but Alex didn't want to believe it, he didn't want to here it.

One more time he told himself. He took a deep breath and dived down again. He forced himself to stay down longer, when his chest screamed for oxygen he ignored it. He was close he could feel it, and then he did.

His hand clasped around Izzie hair and he began pulling her to the surface. She was heavier than he remembered. He struggled to pull her up but he wouldn't let go, he couldn't let go. When he reached the surface his lungs screamed for air. He gasped for it and lifted Izzie's head above the water but she didn't gaps for air. She didn't move at all, she was dead weight in his arms. He pushed her hair away from her face, her skin was freezing cold, her eyes were closed, and her lips were blue. It took Alex only a moment to realize she wasn't breathing.

/\/\/\/\

Izzie felt the railing behind her give way. She felt herself falling. She went to scream for help but the fall was too fast. She hit the water before she could get a sound out. And then everything went black.

"_Izzie, Izzie wake up." A voice called out to her. She blinked her eyes open and looked around. Someone was shining a bright light into her face. _

"_I'm awake" she said reaching up for the light and pushing it away. "Just get that light out of my face."_

_The light moved away but everything was still really really bright. She'd never seen so much white in her life. "Where am I?" she asked, confused, she didn't recognize her surrounding. _

"_At the church of course." The same voice chirped. _

"_What? Why am I at a church?"_

"_You poor dear" the voice said and she felt an ice cold hand grip her under the arm and life her up. "You must have really hit your head. It's your wedding day, you're getting married."_

"_Married?" Izzie looked down at what she was wearing, it certainty looked like she was getting married. She had on the most beautiful dress she'd ever seen. She reached down for it, touched it. The material was soft and delicate. It was perfect._

"_Come on." The voice said. "You don't want to be late for your own wedding."_

_Izzie felt cold hands push against her chest, push her backwards, but an invisible hand pulled her forwards, toward a blinding light, toward her wedding._


	2. Chapter 2

"Come on Izzie, breath!" Alex urged as he began performing CPR.

A coast guard rescue boat had pulled them both out of the water minutes after Alex had surfaced holding Izzie. Now she lay lifeless on the floor of the boat. She wasn't breathing and her pulse was gone.

As Alex performed CPR medical personal aboard the boat were running around collecting a small portable defibrillator and a monitor. They ripped open her shirt and began placing electrodes on her chest.

/\/\/\/\

_Izzie walked for what seemed like forever, she couldn't see where she was going but it felt right. When the light finally cleared she was standing inside a church. A veil now covered her face, she didn't know where it came from but she could see through it. A man stood waiting for her at the front of the church. He turned around and smiled _

_"Denny!" she whispered under her breath and a jolt of electricity ran through her body. For a second everything went blank. _

/\/\/\/\

"Clear!" the medical personal holding the defibrillator paddles yelled.

Alex lifted his hands from Izzie's body and watched as they shocked her. She body shook momentarily as the electricity ran through her then she was still again.

/\/\/\/\

_The church came back into focus; everything was a lot clearer now. Organ music began playing and the man, Denny she was certain, held out his hand for her. She knew she was meant to walk slowly, savor the moment but she was past the moment. All she wanted to do was get to him, be with him. She found herself running down the aisle, running toward him. _

_She reached out for his hand and took it. It was freezing cold. _

/\/\/\/\

Alex took Izzie's hand and squeezed it tight. "Come on" he said under his breath. "Breathe."

"Clear!"

Alex let go of Izzie's hand and watched helplessly as they shocked her again. Her body shook briefly and then was still. Alex watched the monitor, waiting, watching for signs of life. And then it bleeped, her heart was beating, once, twice, three times, and then she was flat lining again.

/\/\/\/\

_Izzie held tightly onto the man's hand. She felt someone try and pull her away. Everything started to go blank again but she held on she fought it and then everything came back clearer than ever. _

_Denny was standing next her. She could feel his energy, feel his presence. He reached up lifted her veil and touched her cheek, his hands were cold just like she remembered. _

_"I've missed you so much." She whispered pulling closer to him. _

_"I miss you too." He whispered, embracing her tightly. She breathed in his sent, he smelt like the sea. _

_She held onto him tight. She could stay like this forever she thought, just standing there embracing the man she loved. But as she stood there she felt a force pushing her away. Cold hands pushed against her chest, pushed her away from Denny. She held on to him tighter, she didn't want to lose him again. But then he stared pulling away from her. _

_"Denny!" she cried gripping his hand, refusing to let him go. _

_He came toward her again, brushed his cheek against hers and whispered into her ear. "I love you but you have to let me go. It's not your time." And then he kissed her, and as he kissed her everything around her dissolved. _

/\/\/\/\

Alex lent over Izzie's lifeless body. Tears streamed down his face as he pounded against her chest. Someone put a blanket around him and tried to pull him away but he refused to move. He didn't want to leave her; he needed to be the one to save her.

"Please Izzie" he urged her as he took her head in his hands. "Come back to me. I love you." He lent down and placed his mouth over hers. He breathed into her one last time and as he did he felt her react. He felt her heart begin to beat, the monitor came to life and then she was sitting coughing up water.

/\/\/\/\

Izzie opened her eyes. Denny was gone and in his place was Alex. His mouth was over hers and he was breathing life into her. Instinctively she sat up and began coughing up water. As she did her head collided with his. It hurt but it was soon forgotten. She let Alex rub her back as she coughed up more and more water. It wasn't until she'd finished coughing that she began to take in her surroundings and her situation.

She was soaking wet and so was Alex. Her shirt had been removed and she was connected to a monitor. They were on a small boat and there were people fussing around them. Someone came over to her and placed an oxygen mask over her face. She tried to pull it off but Alex held it onto her face.

"Just breathe." He soothed wrapping his arm around her and pulling her closer to him. "We'll talk later."

She listened to him she didn't try to talk. Even if she'd been able to she didn't know what she'd say. She couldn't make sense of what had just happened, what she'd just seen, what she'd just felt. She felt hollow and empty inside but as Alex pulled her closer to him she felt warmed. She closed her eyes and rested her head against his shoulder. He pulled the blanket tightly around them both and they silently rode into shore together.


	3. Chapter 3

An ambulance and a crowd were waiting for them when they reached the shore. The ferry system had been brought to a stand still while they'd been in the water so there was a back log of commuters waiting at the docks. Some people had cameras and took photos of them. They did their best to ignore them but it was a little hard.

Alex helped Izzie to the ambulance. She refused to let them carry her on a stretcher despite the fact she was severely hypothermic and still having difficulty getting enough oxygen into her body. She wanted to walk, it was partly to show everyone that she was okay but more so to reassure herself.

/\/\/\/\

At the hospital George and Meredith waited outside for the ambulance to arrive. They'd heard on the radio that there had been an accident on one of the ferry boats but it wasn't until they'd seen the live television broadcast of them returning to shore that they realized it was Alex and Izzie who were coming in.

"They're going to be fine." Meredith assured George who was worrying that the ambulance was taking too long to arrive. "You saw them, they were both walking."

"Yeah." George was still worried though. "Did you hear what they said? She was under the water for ten minutes."

"Yeah, but that water is pretty cold this time of year." Then the ambulance pulled around the corner. "See there they are."

/\/\/\/\

The back door to the ambulance opened up and one of the paramedics pushed Izzie out. She was laying down on a gurney now and still had an oxygen mask which was blowing warm air, over her face. Alex walked along beside her, one hand griped Izzie the other held tightly onto a blanket.

As they wheeled them in the paramedic began giving them the stats. Meredith took Izzie's chart and George was given Alex's. Technically neither one of them was a surgical case and they shouldn't have been looking after them but they were their friends and they wanted to help.

Meredith led them into and empty trauma room and said goodbye to the paramedic. She hooked Izzie up to monitors and began removing her wet clothing. George made Alex sit down and tried to examine him.

"O'Malley I'm fine." Alex said pushing George's hand away from him.

"I don't care I still have to examine you." He stuck the thermometer into Alex's ear. "95, you're hypothermic."

"I'm fine."

With the exception of the cold body temperature Alex really did seem to be okay. "Fine." George said and he walked out the room.

Alex looked over at Izzie and smiled. She'd been very quiet while Meredith had been prodding and poking her. "That was mean," she said smiling back at him.

"Bambi will get over it." He shrugged, taking Izzie's hand again. "How is she doing?" he asked Meredith.

Meredith looked down at the readings she'd just taken. "All things considered. Surprisingly well." She handed Alex the chart. It did look promising, her pulse ox was almost back in normal range, her temperature was still low but was slowly coming back up, her BP was coming back up, her pulse rate was strong and steady and so was her breathing. Alex was still reading the chart when George came back into the room carrying a set of clean scrubs and several towels.

"Go take a hot shower." He said throwing them at Alex.

Alex took the clothes and looked at them. He looked at Izzie; he didn't really want to leave her.

Izzie watched Alex look at her. She could tell what he was thinking. He wanted to go but he wanted to stay. "Go." She said to him because it was what he needed to hear and she needed to say. She needed to be away from him, she needed to make sense of what had just happened.

"I have to take her up for a chest x-ray." Meredith offered. "You should go get yourself warmed up."

/\/\/\/\

Alex ran the water as hot as he could bear. The water stung his skin, made it tingle but it felt nice. He closed his eyes and let it run over him. He stayed there in the shower for a long time. He let the room fill with steam. He breathed it in, it felt so good. Now that he was alone he began playing the events of the day through in his mind.

Breakfast with Addison, lunch with Addison, the ferry boat ride with Addison. At the time everything with Addison had felt right. It had felt good. He cared about her, he knew he did. He didn't want to hurt her but he couldn't get the images of Izzie from his head. When he closed his eyes he didn't see Addison crying out for him from the ferry boat he saw Izzie lying lifeless on the floor of the rescue boat. He tried to shake the images of Izzie from his head, he shouldn't be thinking of her like that, he was with Addison, Izzie didn't want him. But he couldn't make them go away and he couldn't change the way he'd felt when he'd realized she was gone.

When he'd realized she was in the water, he'd felt the pit of his stomach twist, he'd felt instantly ill and adrenalin had pumped though his body. When he was in the water searching he'd blocked out the pain, the cold, he'd been aware that he was struggling to keep himself a float but he wasn't going to give up until he found her. When he found her, when he pulled her head above the surface and realized she wasn't breathing he breathed for her. He gave her the little oxygen he had because instinctively he knew he couldn't live without her. When they'd been pulled from the water, when he'd seen her lifeless body lying on the floor of the rescue boat he'd refused to let go. He'd refused to give up on her even when his head was telling him to stop, telling him that she'd been under the water for more than ten minutes, telling him that her chances were slim. He'd ignored his head and gone with his heart, he'd clanged to the slight possibility that she might be okay. He'd breathed for her, he breathed life into her and when she breathed for herself he felt a massive weight lift off his shoulders. When he thought she was gone he'd felt like a part of him was missing and when she came back he felt whole again.

He couldn't understand why he'd felt like that. He didn't think he still felt that way about her but he did and now he couldn't shake that from his head.


	4. Chapter 4

Izzie watched Alex walk out the room. She waited until the door was closed and she was sure he was out of ear shot.

"Meredith," she spoke softly. "I saw Denny."

Meredith stopped what she was doing and look right at Izzie. "Iz," she said. "Denny's dead."

"I know." Izzie said turning away. "But so was I."

"Oh." Meredith said realizing what Izzie was saying. She put her stethoscope away and sat down on Izzie's bed. Right at this instant she didn't need a doctor she needed a friend. "What did you see?"

Izzie closed her eyes and tried to picture what she'd seen. "I was in a church." She began slowly. "We were getting married. He said he misses me and he loves me but then he said I have to let him go. He kissed me and then I was on the boat and Alex was…" her voice trailed off as she remembered the boat. Remembered Alex breathing into her, the feeling of warmth she'd felt when he'd touched her, held her. "…He saved my life." She whispered as her eyes closed and a warning light began flashing on the monitor.

"Izzie?" Meredith looked up at the monitor and swore. "Shit." Her oxygen stats had just dropped dramatically. She grabbed the oxygen mask from the back of the bed and secured it to Izzie face. She gently rubbed Izzie's back and watched as her stats returned to normal ranges.

"What happened?" Izzie asked a few minutes later when she opened her eyes.

"You talk too much." Meredith smiled. "Now lets get you up to x-ray."

/\/\/\/\

Alex stepped out of the locker room. He felt a lot better now that he was clean, warm, and dry. He'd stayed in the shower long enough to think things through. He knew now what he had to do, he needed to find Addison.

Finding her was a lot easier than he'd thought. He practically walked into her when he rounded the first corner.

"Alex!" she cried, wrapping her arms around him in a tight embrace. "I'm so glad you're okay. You had me so worried."

"Yeah." Alex said pulling away from her. "Addison we need to talk."

She nodded at him. She wasn't really surprised; a part of her had seen this coming. She took his hand and led him into an empty on-call room. They sat down next to each other on the bed.

"Addison." Alex began. "I like you, I do care about you and I don't want to hurt you. That is why I have to do this now. We can't keep seeing each other."

"I know." Addison said placing a hand on Alex's leg.

"You do?" He was surprised, usually when he'd broken up with someone they didn't react so understanding.

"I saw you today, what you did. You still love her don't you?"

"I didn't think so, but now. I can't stop thinking about her, every time I close my eyes she's there."

"I knew it was too good to last." Addison said standing up and holding out her hand for Alex. "Come on. You need to go find Izzie and tell her how you feel."

"Thank you." Alex said taking Addison's hand and standing. "Thank you for understanding."

"Thank you," Addison said, embracing him one last time, "for being honest with me."

Then they walked out the on-call room and went their separate ways.

/\/\/\/\

Meredith held Izzie's chest x-ray up to the light and pointed to the shadows covering her lower lungs.

"The x-ray shows you have some pulmonary edema. That is why you're still having difficulty breathing."

Izzie nodded but didn't dare take off her oxygen mask. Only minutes earlier Meredith has lectured her about the need for her to keep her mask on and that she was talking too much.

"You're lucky to be alive." She'd said. "You need to rest now. You can talk all you want later."

So now Izzie was sitting up in the bed listening very quietly to Meredith explain to her what was wrong. Meredith continued talking and as she did the door opened and Alex walked in.

"Hey," he said giving Meredith and then Izzie a hug. "How's the patient doing?"

"She's doing well." Meredith held up the x-ray again for Alex. "She has some mild pulmonary edema but it should fix itself." She paused for a second and then added. "She keeps talking too much."

"Oh." Alex said looking at Izzie with a mock serious expression. Then he turned to Meredith. "Do you mind if we arr…" he tilted his head sideways indicating that he wanted her leave the room.

"Yeah sure. I've got other patients to see anyways." Then she picked up the x-ray and was gone.

Now that they were alone Alex sat down next to Izzie's bed so that their eyes were level. He took her hand in his and he began talking.

"Izzie," he said, still not exactly sure of what he wanted to say. "I love you. I didn't know until today. I didn't think I still felt this way about you but I do. I love you. I want to be with. I can't imagine being with anyone else." He paused for a moment and took a deep breath. "I know you're not ready for a relationship, I know you're not ready to let anyone in and I understand that. I just wanted to let you know that when you are ready I'll be waiting for you."

He lent forward and kissed her forehead, then stood up to leave. He made it all the way to the door before she called out for him to stay.

/\/\/\/\

Izzie listened to what Alex had to say. His words slipped over her, through her, into her. She'd been thinking about the same thing a lot today. She'd been thinking about Denny and what she'd seen, what he'd said to her. She had to let him go. She had to move forward. And here Alex was telling her he loved her, telling her he wanted to be with her, that he didn't want to be with anyone else. This was what she wanted to hear and didn't want to hear all at the same time. She wanted Alex but…

He finished what he was saying, he kissed her forehead, stood up and began to leave. He was almost at the door before she found her tongue and was able to speak.

"Stay!" she called out to him and he stopped, turned around and walked back.

He sat down next to her bed again. He took her hand but he didn't say a word. He was waiting for her to say something. She looked him in the eyes, she took a breath as deep as she could manage and pulled the oxygen mask from her face. She pulled him closer to her and then in a soft voice she whispered to him.

"Marry me."

/\/\/\/\

"Marry you?"

Alex hadn't been expecting that. He'd been expecting to have to wait for her. But she wanted him, she wanted him now. She stared into his eyes beckoning him for a response. He wasn't sure what to say and then he remembered everything he'd just said and the answer was obvious.

"Of course." He said before leaning in and kissing her like he hadn't done in a long time.

* * *

**a/n: Well that's the end. If you've read this far please review I'd love to know what you thought. And thanks to everyone who reviewed the previous chapters. **


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